Expert Details
Power Generation, Biofuels, and Engineering Services
ID: 734946
Colorado, USA
Expert has been engaged as an expert witness by the US Department of Justice, by the Colorado PUC, and for other energy-related cases.
Expert has been involved in the review of numerous ethanol and biodiesel facilities with a combined capacity in excess of 2 billion gallons per year. These reviews include the design and construction of various ethanol and biodiesel technologies. Expert has also been involved in the review of next generation ethanol facilities (i.e., cellulosic).
For Power Generation and Biofuel facilities:
- Technology assessments (i.e. will the technology work as proposed)
- Construction assessments (i.e. budget, schedule, methodology, etc.)
- Technical due diligence (i.e. contract reviews, technical inputs to the financial model, technology, O&M, etc.)
- Performance test reviews (i.e. monitor testing, review test plan, review results, etc.)
- Construction monitoring/review (i.e. construction status, percent complete, monthly budget/schedule reviews, etc.)
- Operations and Maintenance review (i.e. annual budget, current O&M plans and procedures, etc.)
Expert Witness assignments
- Construction disputes
- Completion disputes
- Plant performance
- Plant operations
Project & Expert Witness/Testimony Experience:
- Traditional Power: Coal, Natural Gas (Combined Cycle and Simple Cycle), Reciprocating Engines
- Renewable Energy: Wind, Solar, Hydro, Biomass, Other Renewable Power Technologies
- Biofuels: Ethanol, Biodiesel/Renewable Diesel, Renewable Natural Gas (“RNG”)
- Design: Steam Turbines and steam path upgrades, Turbine Controls Retrofits
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1995 | Degree: Master of Science | Subject: Mechanical Engineering | Institution: Union College |
| Year: 1992 | Degree: Bachelor of Science | Subject: Mechanical Engineering | Institution: Rochester Institute of Technology |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2012 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Principal | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert is the founder and owner of a firm to provide technical due diligence, engineering consulting, and development support for energy projects. The focus of Expert is to provide an additional level of engineering support to help developers to finance projects and to help lenders to understand, and mitigate, their technical risk on projects. Expert strives to provide value through the highest level of service and engineering expertise on a wide range of technologies.Expert has reviewed numerous power generation projects (a combined capacity in excess of 87,000 Gigawatts), Biofuel projects(a combined production capacity in excess of 2 billion gallons per year), Renewable Natural Gas project (a combined capacity of 13 million MMBtu per year). |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2011 to 2012 | Employer: Mott MacDonald | Title: Sr. Vice President | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert worked with the firm's senior executives to develop a U.S. Independent Engineering practice and to expand the firm’s presence in the North and South American markets. These responsibilities include managing the US IE practice, providing QA/QC reviews both internally and externally, sales/business development to promote the US IE practice, and all staffing for the IE practice.Expert also frequently supported project reviews as the project manager to maintain a presence in the market and to support firm’s clients throughout the world. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2011 | Employer: Harris Group Inc. | Title: Vice President | Department: Financial Consulting |
Responsibilities:Expert was responsible for the P&L of Financial Consulting business unit, reporting directly to the CEO and the Board of Directors. Developed marketing plans and annual budgets to grow the independent engineering practice. Expert provided internal Quality Assurance by providing detailed review of all reports prior to issuance to the client. Supported the due diligence review of the project technology, contracts, construction, operations and maintenance. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2001 to 2007 | Employer: R.W. Beck | Title: Project Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert managed the due diligence effort on a wide range of facilities and technologies ranging from greenfield power facilities to sludge handling systems. Expert was one of the primary reviewers for Operations and Maintenance of power generation facilities and maintained the firm's O&M database. One of three engineers responsible for maintaining combustion and steam turbine technology reviews. Supported numerous diligence reviews including financing, construction monitoring, performance test monitoring, and annual operations and maintenance reviews. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1998 to 2001 | Employer: General Electric (formerly Woodward Governor) | Title: Mechanical Systems Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert performed mechanical retrofits for all types of turbine control systems, specializing in mechanical-hydraulic control retrofits for large main-line turbines. Interfaced with customers to support technical integration of new turbine controls and provided direction on the proper demolition of old hydraulic control system and installation of the new turbine control system. This work included the construction management of the retrofit, commissioning, and testing of the new mechanical controls equipment.Expert developed processes to outsource all fabricated parts (i.e. valve actuators, manifolds, HPUs, etc.) and worked with purchasing and vendors to ensure an on-time delivery of mechanical components. Also, supported the ISO9000 efforts by assisting with internal audits and acting as a mentor for other internal auditors on the quality team. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1996 to 1998 | Employer: Zygo Automation | Title: Project/Software Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert designed and engineered large, high-volume automation systems. Maintained project budgets, bill of materials, purchased parts, drawings, and customer relations. Directed drafters, designers, other engineers, and technicians towards the completion of the design and installation of the automation systems.Expert developed software to control the operation of state of the art automation systems. Led junior software engineers in the development of controls software for the automation systems primarily for the hard drive industry. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1996 | Employer: Copper Mountain | Title: Youth Ski Instructor | Department: Ski School |
Responsibilities:During this time, Expert taught skiing to youth from ages 3 to 12. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1992 to 1995 | Employer: General Electric | Title: Product Design Engineer | Department: Steam Turbine Engineering |
Responsibilities:Expert designed steam turbines. During this chapter, he accrued and leveraged experience with blade design, high-pressure casings, low pressure hood, rotors, and packing. He progressed to be the responsible design engineer for an entire steam turbine upgrade.Expert was part of the internal ISO-9000 audit staff for the Power Generation division. |
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Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2014 to 2017 | Agency: Department of Justice | Role: Expert Witness | Description: Supported DOJ legal counsel for the litigation of multiple American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cases against the US Treasury. |
| Years: 2012 to 2012 | Agency: Colorado Public Utilities Commission | Role: Expert Witness | Description: Supported the evaluation of a proposed power plant acquisition by the local utility. |
International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 2006 to 2018 | Country / Region: Mexico | Summary: Independent engineer for the construction of a 30MW hydro project. Included annual visits to verify the operations and maintenance of the facility. Currently support the evaluation of several greenfield and brownfield combined cycle plants. |
| Years: 2012 to 2012 | Country / Region: Colombia | Summary: Independent engineering review of a new coal plant |
| Years: 2015 to 2016 | Country / Region: Panama | Summary: Independent engineering review of a 300MW coal plant. |
| Years: 2012 to 2012 | Country / Region: Pakistan | Summary: Independent engineering review of a cogeneration plant that produced desalinated water and power for the area outside of Karachi. Included testifying in front of the Pakistani PUC. |
| Years: 2013 to 2013 | Country / Region: Canada | Summary: Independent engineering review of a wind farm in Quebec |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Licensed Professional Engineer (Colorado) |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Expert has four publications regarding power plant supply, natural gas development, the utility industry, energy sources, and quality assurance. 4 presentations 1 patent |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has been engaged in the following cases as an expert witness: - Expert witness for a litigation involving a construction and performance dispute with the EPC Contractor for a biomass facility. - Expert witness for US DOJ involving a dispute over a US Treasury Section 1603 tax grant for an open-loop biomass project. - Expert witness for US DOJ involving a dispute over a US Treasury Section 1603 tax grant for an open-loop biomass project. Included a deposition and testimony. - Expert witness for US DOJ involving a dispute over a US Treasury Section 1603 tax grant for two Fuel Cell projects. Included a deposition and testimony. - Expert witness for US DOJ involving a dispute over a US Treasury Section 1603 tax grant for an open-loop biomass project. Included a deposition. - Provided testimony to the Colorado PUC regarding the potential acquisition of an aging combined cycle facility to be incorporated into the Colorado rate base. - Provided testimony to the Colorado PUC regarding the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act evaluating the retirement of 900MW of coal facilities in Colorado. - Expert witness support for litigation relative to an 800 ton per day, 22MW waste to energy project in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Case settled out of court. - Expert witness support for litigation relative to the construction of a 5 MGY biodiesel facility in Sante Fe Springs, California. Case settled out of court. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Expert has given a presentations regarding energy sources, as well as regarding technical risk management for (a) resources, (b) thermal generation, and (c) biomass. |
| Vendor Selection |
|---|
| While at Woodward Governor, Expert drove the outsourcing effort for machined equipment and hydraulic equipment (i.e. hydraulic power units, cylinders, servo-valves, etc.) Expert currently reviews the equipment and construction contracts for large power equipment to help the lenders mitigate any potential risks with the proposed vendor. |
Language Skills
| Language | Proficiency |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Basic |
Fields of Expertise
electric energy generation, industrial construction management, energy-efficient steam turbine, energy generation, hydroelectric energy, engineering procurement construction, fossil-fueled steam generation, performance testing, coal combustion, activated carbon, combined-cycle electric power generating system, photovoltaic energy system, wind turbine, turbine design, gas turbine technology, biomass energy system, biodiesel technology, ethanol fuel production, biofuel, technical evaluation, financial modeling, project finance, Title V permitting, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, construction project management, risk management